Red Silk Ribbon
by mintbanana
Summary: BrickxBlossom oneshot. Nice n' fluffy. Please R


_[Insert generic disclaimer here_

_They're all around 16 now and I reckon the Professor would have given his girls separate birthdays, just to make them feel a little more normal (or something). Oh, and Brick apparently wears Converse. Go figure._

_Please leave a review. Constructive criticism is always welcome._

_Italics_ mean flashback, which is written in 3rd person POV. The rest is written in Blossom's POV.

**Red Silk Ribbon**

I groaned inwardly. Once again Brick is causing trouble and disrupting time I could be spending doing something constructive. Seriously, can't he just call it a day already? Even his brothers aren't that much of a nuisance any more. But no. Instead of going to the library, I have to drag myself out here to boot his miserable rear end back to whatever hole they're currently residing in. My sisters didn't even think of helping. Bubbles wen out shopping and Buttercup's only comment was: 'Your counterpart, your problem.'

Brick was hovering nonchalantly over the park, now mostly covered in burnt grass and crying children being hurriedly ushered away by their parents. His eyes wandered casually over the destruction until he caught sight of me, whereupon he descended slowly, never once looking away. I circled overhead for a minute or so, examining him, checking for any obvious ruses.

He popped his bubblegum at me impatiently, his hands thrust deep into the pockets of his jeans, red windbreaker open and billowing out slightly. The ever-present red cap was, as usual, rammed backwards on his head. I continued to study him. I don't really like fighting I have to admit, but I'll do it all the same. I'm nowhere near as bloodthirsty as Buttercup, but I'm not as timid as Bubbles. I fight because it's my job, and because I have to do it. Therefore, I try to do it well.

Unlike Brick and his brothers (and to some extent Buttercup) I rely on other strategies than simple brute force. Since we were little I've undertaken training in various martial arts. I'm now proficient in disciplines ranging from kick-boxing to capoeira, and I can fight dirty if I have to. I'm good enough to give Brick a run for his money, that's for sure.

I finally descended, keeping my distance. He watched me carefully, his eyes half lidded and cautious. I took up stance a little distance away from him, weight perfectly balanced at my centre, ready to be easily shifted, arms up and ready to attack or defend as called for. I focused on my breathing, shutting out anything that might serve as a distraction, totally fixed on my goal. Namely, beating the enemy.

On seeing me position myself, a sardonic grin crept onto his face and he cracked his knuckles, planting his Converse-clad feet firmly into the charred earth. We stayed like that for a moment or two, just staring, waiting for the other to strike, and then, it began.

He launched himself at me, flying in low to the ground and aiming to tackle me at the waist. I shot upwards, avoiding him and whirling round to block his next attack, my arms crossed in an 'X' in front of me as I caught his punch. Nevertheless, he knocked me back a little. He withdrew his fist and pulled back.

"Nice reactions babe," he commented smoothly, making me flush a little. He may be a Rowdyruff, but he has something of a reputation as a ladies' man. Not to mention as a heartbreaker and an absolutely ruthless flirt, something I've come to learn from experience.

I refused to answer, both to deny him the satisfaction and also because I wasn't sure I could say anything without stuttering. Instead I fixed him with an icy glare and then a blast of icier breath.

He dived out of the way, laughing, before swinging back up through the air to drive a roundhouse kick at my head. I caught his ankle and flipped him, only to find him back up and throwing more punches at me. The whole thing became a seemingly endless sequence of punch, kick, counter, dodge, react, with the odd blast of an eye laser thrown in for good measure. I wasn't thinking anymore, simply relying on instinct and the skills I've been honing for years. Neither of us were gaining the upper hand, it seemed as if we'd just keep going until at least one of us passed out from exhaustion. One thing puzzled me though. The whole reason I had learned to use martial arts were to detract from Brick's advantage of slightly increased strength. But even though he is stronger and he was landing some fairly decent hits on me, I wasn't any worse off than I would be from fighting, say, Fuzzy Lumpkin. He could have knocked me out of the sky already if he wanted. What was going on?

With that thought in mind, I suddenly realised he wasn't in front of me any more, he was coming at me from the side. I tried to spin to counter him, but he crashed into me and pulled me down to earth, holding me still. I was too stunned to think about escaping for the moment, but for some reason, I realised he smelled vaguely of cinnamon and leather. Trying to shake that thought out of my head, I tried to pry his arms away.

"Brick, get off me. Now." I demanded. I wasn't particularly scared for some reason, but I was totally confused as to just what the crazy idiot thought he was doing. I heard him chuckle, but I couldn't see his face, which was somewhere behind my right shoulder.

"Y'know," he said, his voice low with an ever-so-slightly seductive edge to it. "I've always wondered why you never wear your hair down…" One arm detached itself from my body and I felt his fingers running, surprisingly gently, through my ponytail. I bit my lip. I _hate_ people touching my hair. And then, I felt a soft tug and my ribbon sliding out of its bow, my hair falling out of its neat style to cascade in waves around my face. I've always kept it long, and it still falls to my elbows even now.

I was suddenly thrown back to a memory from around a year ago. We had been fighting then too…

_XBXBX_

"_Brick!" He looked round, a smug grin plastered on his face._

"_Ah, the lady of the hour. Heard it was your birthday, thought I'd do something special." Blossom glared at him. She was perfectly aware of why he was currently smashing up the new memorial fountain and she was really not happy about it._

"_Let's make this fast Brick; I don't have time to play games with you." He chuckled._

"_But Bloss, c'mon. I thought birthday parties were all about games." She leapt at him, her face twisted in anger, and the fight ensued._

_She'd gained the upper hand for a while, forcing him lower and lower to the ground as the fight wore on. As she threw a solid connecting punch he went down, but as he did he managed to grab her and pull her down with him. She hit the ground and rolled, trying to get back into the air, but he was expecting that and as she rolled onto her back to get up, she found him leaning over her. Frozen and staring into his blood-red eyes, she saw that the cruel sneer she expected wasn't there; instead he was looking at her with a confused expression, as though he'd never seen her before. At the same time, she herself felt she was looking at someone different. He was breathing heavily and his hat was lopsided, his raggedy red hair sticking out at odd angles. He wasn't the usual arrogant, flirtatious, composed Brick that she often fought in the past and he was frowning slightly._

"_Your hair…" he murmured and she realised that her bow had come loose and her hair was half in and half out of its neat ponytail. As if suddenly realising where he was, he sat up quickly, sitting back on his knees and letting her get up. She reached back to put her hair back up, seeming to forget where she was and what she was doing, but as she went to retie the bow, she felt the ribbon sliding from her fingers, the rough, calloused skin of her counterpart's fingers brushing her hands as he pulled the length of red silk from them, their battle all but forgotten now._

"_You should wear it down. It looks cute," he said cheekily, his smug grin reappearing on his face. She flushed madly. He was teasing her! And look at her, blushing like Bubbles! She panicked and flew off, not even thinking about the ribbon that was left dangling from Brick's hands._

_XBXBX_

I flushed a little just remembering that day. I had tried hard to forget it; I think I had maybe succeeded, except for those tiny niggling thoughts about Brick that would creep their way into my head. I've never wanted to admit that, but right then, I found that I really had no choice…

"Brick… stop it ok? We'll call it quits for now. I can't be bothered fighting with you," I managed, keeping my voice level. He made a rough noise in his throat and suddenly spun me around to face him, letting go to pull up the left sleeve of his windbreaker and bear his wrist to me.

It was wrapped in a red ribbon.

I stared at it. There was no mistaking it. It was the ribbon from my birthday last year. The one he took from me. The one I left behind. I managed to bring my eyes up to meet his, to find them boring into me with an intensity that half scared, half excited me. Without thinking, I reached out and ran my fingertips over the crimson silk on his wrist.

"You kept it?" I asked quietly. He nodded, not looking at me anymore. I wanted to ask why, I really did, but I decided to take a chance and trust my instincts to answer for him.

"Do you…" I paused, still disbelieving of what I was about to say.

"Do you like me?" He stared fixedly at the ground, an almost unnoticeable blush forming on the bridge of his nose. I continued to watch him for a while, not even realising that my hand was still on the ribbon on his wrist.

"Is that… okay?" he said finally, sounding unsure. I was tempted to laugh. Brick, the tough guy ladies' man, was actually shy. I think I would have laughed actually, if my heart hadn't felt like it was about to explode.

"Cos, since we're the leaders an' all an' we can do what we want…" he gabbled, which really did make me laugh. He stared at me, looking a little hurt.

"Well leader boy," I smirked at him, moving a little closer. "What do _you_ want?" A look of understanding came into his eyes at that point, and he smiled his smug little smile, his hands reaching out to tangle in my long, unbound hair.

"I don't know genius, why don't you help me figure it out?"

-End-

_It was fluffy and it made no sense! Yay! Well… anyway, please review._


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